


Only Between Us

by Qusinbee



Series: Only Between Us [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, DJWifi, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Friendship, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Future Adrinette/Ladynoir/Ladrien, Gen, Identity Reveal, M/M, Marichat, Multi, Off-screen Relationship(s), Self-cest, Sin - Freedom, many different ships mention, ménage à trois
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-02
Updated: 2018-03-18
Packaged: 2018-08-28 17:10:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8454799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Qusinbee/pseuds/Qusinbee
Summary: Adrien’s luck has always been bad, so the crack on his miraculous doesn’t surprise him. But meeting a whole side of himself he didn’t know existed? Well, that’s new. Now he has to deal with feelings buried deep inside himself, while his other half tries to win over Lady- wait, is he touching his princess? How dare he lay his filthy hands on his princess?!





	1. I

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys, welcome. I want to clear up a few things before anything else, this is my first ml story and to top that off it's a smut one. This is an aged-up so all the characters will be between the ages of 17 and 18. Marinette and Chat are friends, he likes to drop by her house to talk and eat sweets #feedAdrien. Adrien and Marinette are also good friends now. I will be doing my best to stick with the French culture but I'm pretty sure I might make a mistake one way or another. Feel free to leave a comment to tell me about it and I'll do my best to fix it.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The cat miraculous is a ball of mystery and chaos, sometimes it just sucks to be its owner.

 

For Adrien, an ideal day wouldn’t have involved spending time with his emotionally-detached father; maybe his younger self would have jumped at the chance, but he found it rather tiring to strive for perfection every single second. It was especially daunting with him scrutinizing his every move.

“Pay attention,” His father reprimanded, for the seventh time that day. His usual neutral expression was scrunched in annoyance. “This isn't your first session.”

It wasn't. Forcing a brilliant smile, Adrien shifted position, casually leaning against the false wall, his hands tucked into his jacket, eyes settled on the photographer, who repeated his instructions. With a few more shots, he finally declared the session over, pleased with the results.

Adrien maneuvered himself around the set, rushing into the changing rooms, unwilling to deal with the possibility of the photographer changing his mind and resuming the session. Even though he exhausted and more than ready to slip into his regular clothes, he removed his new designer clothes carefully. Meticulously peeling off each item and placing them neatly over the door, then grabbing his own. Plagg’s green eyes peered at him from within his bag.

“Adrien,” Plagg hissed, “Cheese!”

Adrien shoved Plagg back into his bag. “Be quiet, someone could hear you!”

Whining, Plagg let out a huff, grumbling over the injustice of not having anything to eat. Adrien chuckled, his mood improving with Plagg’s presences. Gathering his things, he gave himself a look over making sure everything was in place, he headed out all ready to head home.

“Adrien,” His father greeted him at the doors, “I expect a better performance on your next session.” His displeasure was clear.

With a tight smile, he nodded, “Of course, Père, I will do much better.”

Without further prompt, he looked away, his attention solemnly on Nathalie as she went over his schedule and other pending projects, leaving Adrien to trail after them. Bitter disappointment settled in the pit of his stomach. He had missed a chance to meet up with his friends for this, and he regretted it. He missed Nino’s idle chatter, Alya’s crazy antics, and most of all, he missed Marinette’s shy smile and bright red cheeks.

The ride home was silent and tense, his father seeming to do his best to ignore him, his eyes glued on the files Nathalie had given shortly before entering the vehicle. Nathalie clicked away at her tablet, organizing God-knows-what. Thankfully, the drive wasn't very long; his father only acknowledged him again on his entrance to the mansion before heading off to his next meeting.

In the refuge of his room, Adrien was finally able to relax. Slumping down on his bed, he took a deep breath, feeling free for the first time that day, with no worries of disapproving stares and curt words. It really was hard to be everything his father wanted, sometimes he wished he could just disappear.

With a grumble, Plagg wiggled out of his bag. “Are you trying to kill me? I haven’t eaten cheese in forever!”

“Plagg!” Adrien groaned. “You ate two hours ago!”

“That long? I really need to eat, then!” He cackled, diving into the emergency pile.

Shaking his head, Adrien relaxed on his bed, pulling out his phone, idly swiped through his messages bored. His face lit up about half an hour later when he received a text from none other than Ladybug herself.

Donning his black suit, he escaped into the city in search of his lady, leaving behind his problems. Crossing rooftops all over Paris, Chat Noir beamed when he finally caught the sight of the red-clad heroine swinging towards him.

“My Lady!” he cried, excited to see her after such a dreadful day. Landing on a roof, he bowed to her with dramatic flair as she landed beside him.

Snickering at his antics, she greeted him back with a curtsy. “Chaton~,” she said.

Lightened at her reaction, he continued with the same fervor. “What a coincidence to see you here on such a lovely night! It must be fate!”

Huffing, she crossed her arms, slightly put off by his words. His eyes glanced at the constriction of her breasts. “Stop playing, Kitty, you know I called you here.”

Heat beginning to bloom under his collar, Chat averted his eyes, gasped, and moved his right hand over his heart, his left flying up to his forehead, mocking a faint. “Goodness! My lady, are you here to confess your undying love for me?”

Her gaze intensified into a glare at his words. “Chat, focus. We don’t have time for your jokes, we’re here to discuss the last Akuma attack.”

“Hmph," Chat humphed, annoyed at being restricted, "Alright, m'lady.” His shoulders sagged as he crossed his arms and looked away. Of course he had already known that, but he had hoped that, maybe after all this time, she would at least acknowledge his advances. He didn't feel it was really a lot to ask.  
Raising his head again, he asked, “So... what’s the deal? I don't... quite remember the last Akuma attack.”

“My point exactly!" Ladybug cried, "The deal is there hasn’t been an akuma attack in weeks! The last one was The Slasher, one of the hardest akumas we've faced.” Spreading her arms to the city below as a demonstration, his eyes subconsciously trailed down her body as she turned from him and continued. “Practically half of Paris ended up in the hospital, and if it wasn’t for the miraculous cure, a good amount of them would be dead.”

“So... you think he’s planning something?” He replied, still absentmindedly staring at her curves.

“Exactly!” Ladybug proclaimed, turning energetically to face Chat, throwing her arms in the air. He was startled as the round area he had been formerly admiring disappeared, and he shifted guilty, diverting his attention away from her form. She was too much of a distraction. He had to constantly pull his gaze from her in battle, especially when she jumped, flipped or did anything excitable. He fervently hoped that she wasn’t catching on to his inappropriate attention. Stupid teenage libido, working to undermine all their platonic bonding with a few ill-placed glances.

“Well, aren’t you worried?” Ladybug asked impatiently. Chat snapped back to reality.

It wasn’t that he wasn’t worried about what could happen if Hawk Moth took much longer to akumatize a person; he was. It was just something they couldn’t control. It had become a pattern, now that they were older; Hawk Moth was making stronger villains to match their skills and strength nowadays.

Ladybug sighed and dropped her head back. Chat realized he had been carried away again, and quickly jumbled an answer. "Look, all we can do is be prepared for anything. We face them head-on, and hope the next one is weaker.” He said, coming up beside her.

“That doesn’t really help calm my nerves… Look, I know you're right, but I can’t help but worry over this.” She had reason to; they were in the last year of lycèe. They couldn’t afford to mess up now.

She stared wistfully at the city below and sighed. “I better head home. Wouldn’t want to detransform midway.”

Ladybug walked towards Chat, who slid his hand into hers, drawing her attention back to him. His eyes stared at her intently as she returned with a look of confusion. “I wouldn’t mind catching you, m'lady.”

Flustered, she pulled her hand back, thanking Tikki for making a mask that could hide her blush. She put on a façade of confidence as she said, “Dream on, alley cat, a lad-”

“I do,” He cut in, voice hopeful, “I dream about revealing ourselves to each other more times than I can count.”

“Not again, Chat.” She huffed, slapping her face into her palm. It was an overtread argument by now, and one she liked to avoid. “We've talked about this. Numerous times. Not now.”

“Then when? We’ve been partners for almost four years now. Don’t you trust me?” His voice came out in a whisper.

“Of course I trust you! I trust you with my life!” She cried, and she meant it; it wasn't something that Ladybug could say about just about anyone.

“But not with your identity?!” He countered.

“That’s different!” She exclaimed, and it was. To her, at least; especially because he visited her almost daily as Marinette.

“How?” He demanded, “How is your life any different from your identity?”

“It just is,” she sighed angrily, at a loss for words.

"But-"

“Enough, Chat!” She snapped, anger laced within her words.

Chat flinched at her words, and her eyes widened as she realized what she’d done. Closing his eyes and dropping his head, Chat turned and started walking away.

“Chat..." She said desperately, "Chat, wait, I didn’t mean it like that." She grabbed him by the shoulder and turned him to face her; frustration and resentment were written in his expression.

"I…” At a loss for words, she bit her lip, released his shoulders, and turned away from him; she hadn’t meant to hurt him. Shoulders drooping, her guilt set in. “I’m so sorry Chat. I... I- I need to go.”

He didn’t dare speak as she swung into the night, part of him still reeling at her words. Cold dread and anxiety washed over him; he knew it was a sensitive topic, one that always ended in rejection. Knowing didn’t stop the disappointment from weighing heavily on his heart. Swallowing the urge to curl up, he covered his eyes as he tried to compose himself with deep breaths; he was trying to push away his emotions and force a smile onto his lips.

For a split second, he succeeded, but suddenly, a spark of dark energy exploded from his ring. The sudden onslaught of dark magic caused him to stagger backwards across the rooftop, stopping just short of the edge. Heaving for air, his attention drifted to his ring, and it was then that he noticed. There was now a line split right across the surface. His breath hitched. His father had berated him, his love had hurt him, and now his ring was broken? It was official: the universe hated him. There was just no other explanation for his absolutely awful day.

“FUCK!” Chat shouted at the top of his lungs; it really was too much for him. He was done, this day needed to end. He mindlessly bolted home, hoping to any God listening that the fracture would not interfere with his transformation.

Finally dropping into the safety of his room a little while later, he took a moment to study his hand. Aside from the fracture, the ring looked no different, save for now sporting two paws on its face. He flexed his fingers and spun his wrist; at least he didn’t need to worry about his hand. Still… he wasn't sure what exactly had caused the surge of dark energy in the first place. He then decided there was no point in prolonging his transformation; he needed to speak to Plagg.

“Claws in,” He said in a tired tone. As the words slipped from his mouth, the backlash of the dark energy suddenly reared its ugly head, ripping through him. The agony of the dark magic surging through his body made his legs give out from under him. Dropping to his knees, the last thing he saw before blacking out was the white floor.

Adrien didn’t know how long he was out; it felt simultaneously like hours and no time at all, eventually he was stirred by voices arguing around him. Groggily, he forced his eyes open, and then instantly regretting the decision as bright white assaulted his vision. It was official everything hated him and God, he felt like somebody had run him over repeatedly with a trailer. Brilliant.

“He’s awake,” A voice greeted him. A voice Adrien thought he recognized it, but he brushed it aside as his post-collapse dementia; surely the voice wasn't his own?

"Get up," the voice said.

Adrien's eyes burst open, it was his own voice talking to him. Tensing, he sat up, coming face to face with an exact replica of himself crouching by his side. The hair, the clothes, everything was completely identical.

“What the hell?!” He shouted as he jerked away from the copy.

“Plagg?” he called out loudly, hoping his Kwami could help with... this. Whatever this was.

“Oh, goody. Sleeping beauty finally decided to join us,” Plagg grumbled. “I told you, kid. Nothing good comes out of holding in your emotions.”

“What?!” He didn’t understand what Plagg meant by that; how did his emotion even tie in with the current situation?

“What he means-” Adrien heard Plagg’s voice from behind, which was impossible, because Plagg was right in front of him. He swiveled around, only to see another kwami; an exact replica of Plagg, the only exception being his white coat. “-is that you've been holding on to your negative emotions for too long.”

“I-I don’t understand!” Panic started setting in as he stared at his doppelgänger across from him. Plagg had made passive comments over his emotions in the past… but still, how did that connect to this?

“Your suppressed emotions overloaded the ring, causing us to split up, so to compensate for us, it divided you.” Not-Quite-Plagg tried to explain, pointing to his duplicate. He continued, “Basically, he is you and all those emotions and feelings you tried to suppress, but as a person.”

“Plagg?” Adrien asked as he turned to his Kwami, perplexed over the subject.

Plagg practically ignored him as he stuffed his face with camembert. “It’s exactly what he said. You need to get used to him; he's going to be around until you reconcile with all of your self.”

His twin looked over his shoulder, sending him a very Chat-like smile; something he would not expect from his own face. Contemplating if anything good could come out of this, besides having another set of hands to help him with family obligations, perhaps his lookalike could take his place, and he could get away with hanging out with his friends now.

Plagg paused as he considered an older chosen, whom had constantly forced himself to date pretty girls. His partner had been a real beau, and, no matter how often he would hint that he loved him, he had ignored his advances. Even after the split, it took his partner almost dying to accept himself.

"Or maybe longer. Who knows? Every chosen that's had this happen has had a different reaction to it.” Plagg's attention was directed at his own twin as he continued, “I hope it isn’t too long, I hate dealing with you.”

Other-Plagg rolled his eyes, and, snorting, said, “Yeah, like it’s any better dealing with you. By the way, kids, I’m called Ye.”

“But what about Ladybug?” His mind was already envisioning her reaction once he told her. “Wait, can I even transform now?”

“'Course you can! Both of you can, actually, but you won’t be as strong as before.” Ye explained.

“So... half-power transformation? Great, like I need this sort of disadvantage.” Adrien flatly remarked.

“Actually, it’s more than half.” Plagg corrected as he finished his stack of cheeses, “You could say about... eighty/eighty, more or less.”

Adrien stared roughly at him, almost glaring as he tried to explain the impossibility of that. “Plagg, you can’t fit two eighties in a hundred.”

Ye sniggered at Adrien's words as Plagg glared at his copy, “Geez, kid, I know, I’m not an idiot. It’s chaos magic, it draws power from the chaos around it to balance the magic. It’s kind of a push and pull thing; sometimes, you’ll be stronger, and other times you’ll be weaker.”

“At least that’s something. What about you? Have you... got a name?” Adrien hesitantly asked his duplicate.

“Yeah, it's Adrien. I’m part of you, remember?” He replied snarkily, trying to irritate Adrien.

“I can’t exactly call you Adrien, now, can I?” He snapped. He really couldn’t.

It was hard enough just to see him, an exact copy, merely sitting in his room; no need to constantly remind himself that there was another him actually running around because he, unfortunately, got split into two because of some sort of emotional overload or something. No need to make his life even more complicated, what with Ladybug and- Oh God, how was he going to explain this to Ladybug?

Shaking off his anxiety to deal with later, Adrien said, “What about... Félix?” That one could work; everybody had gotten the two confused that one year Félix has transferred in.

The duplicate's face crunched up with displeasure the sound of the name; “Félix? No thanks, that's not our name. Or even close to it. I'd rather you call me something close, like... Aiden? It’s similar enough.”

“I... guess that’s true. Well, Aiden, uh... nice to... meet you?” Adrien concluded as he extended his hand to him, at least he wouldn’t have to worry about someone calling him his name and his copy reacting to it.

Aiden chuckled, eyes gleaming as he looked back at him. “Yeah, of course. Very nice.” His words seemed to be laced with dark meaning, but Adrien didn't notice it. The two shook hands as Plagg and Ye watched on.

 

* * *

 

 

“He's not coming, is he, Tikki?" Marinette finally sighed, resigned to spending the rest of the night alone. She had been waiting on her balcony for quite a while, to no avail. Her feline friend would not be showing up tonight, especially after what she said as Ladybug.

“Don’t worry, Marinette.” Tikki assured her, “I’m sure he’ll come tomorrow; you know he can’t stay away from your cookies!”

She smiled assuredly as she leaned against the rails, staring out into the night, eyes searching for a black cat. If only she had the guts to tell him who she was this wouldn’t be an issue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, you guys made it to the end? Oh gosh, I'm so happy, I didn't think anyone would read it, I'm so proud! I hope you guys enjoyed, don't be shy and leave a comment I love every comment!
> 
>  
> 
> This chapter was proofread by TheHylianBatman, a big thank you for putting up with me.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien’s luck has always been bad, so the crack on his miraculous doesn’t surprise him. But meeting a whole side of himself he didn’t know existed? Well, that’s new. Now he has to deal with feelings buried deep inside himself, while his other half tries to win over Lady- wait, is he touching his princess? How dare he lay his filthy hands on his princess?!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Adrien is having issues with a few things he didn't know about himself, this might be a little awkward.

Adrien’s eyes cracked open slightly, sunlight seeping through the windows, bathing the room with light. Something was wrong, even as he started at the familiar sight of his ceiling, it was the same as always; white, dull, and high above him. But... something was off. His eyes widen, alarmed at the foreign sensation of another body pressed against his own. Eyeing the source of his unease, he caught sight of his doppelgänger- Aiden, he corrected himself; something he had been doing since yesterday.

Aiden’s hands were wrapped around his waist, legs tangled with his own, head resting on his shoulder, his face dangerously close to his own. It felt... very nice, actually, waking up with another body wrapped around him. He couldn’t help but think that it would be nice to wake up like that every day. Suddenly feeling very flustered at the intimate contact, Adrien shifted away from him, trying to separate himself. With a few tugs, he was able to free himself, and he quickly dashed into his washroom, escaping the fluttering feeling in his stomach.

In the safety of washroom, he chided himself silently; he needed to stop acting so weird around his counterpart. He was a part of him, nothing to worry about just something new he had to get used to in his daily routine. Gazing up at the mirror, his eyes blinked in surprise, catching sight of Ye dozing in the washroom sink. Part of him had expected to find him with Plagg, or at least in another trash bin. As if his silent inquiry alerted him of his presence, Ye aroused with a yawn, his body stretching out, much like a cat.

His green eyes blinked lazily back up at him. “Hey, kid,” his voice raspy from sleep, “Isn't it a bit early for you to be up?” He rubbed his paws across his face, brushing away any lingering evidence of sleep.

Chuckling, Adrien smiled at the funny image the small kwami made; he had never caught Plagg being so cozy in the morning. Always cranky to be woken up in an ungodly hour. “I actually have a meeting with a few of Père’s associates. Part of the new campaign for the next line he'll be releasing.”

“Oh, fun,” Ye replied, his eyes sweeping over him, noting his bedraggled appearance, his flushed cheeks, and the unmistaken scent of desire, “Anything else you want to add?”

Adrien wasn't sure if he could blush more, but the heat blooming across his body told him otherwise. Avoiding his eyes, he looked away, his hands busying themselves, feeling slightly guilty for the ideas that had crossed his mind moments ago.

Ye snickered, floating up to his face and patting his forehead. “Don't think about it too hard, kitten.” Without another word, he slipped away, leaving him to his own devices.

Staring at the door for a moment, he stripped his clothes, heading to the shower for his morning routine. Washing his head, the shower allowed him a moment of peace as he considered what needed to be done. His hands moved down, lathering himself, removing all evidence of yesterday’s patrol. He found himself at a loss that even his morning shower could not wash away the sting of rejection from Ladybug last night.

“Adrien, you're still not up?!” Natalie voice slipped through the door, cracking slightly with a nervous pitch, “You have to leave in an hour!”

Oh no, Adrien thought, he'd been so caught up in doing his own thing that he had forgotten that Nathalie would drop off his outfit for the day. God, he was so lucky he had woken up earlier! Who knows what would have happened if she had caught sight of them in bed?

Grabbing his towel, he worked fast to dry himself. Seconds later the door burst open as she shoved Aiden into the room, clothes and all, “-expects you to be on time. I’ll ask the chef to make a protein shake so you won’t miss breakfast, but next time, I will not be so lenient.”

Her attention was on her tablet as she reorganized the day to fit his tardiness. So engulfed in her work, she hadn’t seen the real Adrien standing just outside the shower with only a towel wrapped around his waist. The bathroom door closed as Nathalie left him to prepare for the day.

Adrien froze at the sudden attention he was receiving from Aiden, who gave him a look-over, his eyes lingering on the towel that Adrien had been able to wrap around his waist at Aiden's timely entrance. Raising the bundle of clothes given to him by Nathalie, he quipped, “Need any help?”

“No!” Adrien responded, his cheeks tinted in red as he swiped the set of clothes, leaving his towel to unbind and fall to his feet. “Shit,” he panicked, grasping the towel, dropping his clothes onto the ground.

Laughing, Aiden picked up the clothes. “Don’t worry, sunshine, I've already seen everything,” He gave him a pointed look as he headed to the shower, “and so have you.”

Adrien hurried out the door, only stopping to gather his items and Plagg. He made sure to leave a detailed note on the table; their discussion last night had left them with a lot of problems that still needed to be discussed. Until they had been resolved, there could only be one Adrien roaming outside the mansion walls, and no white cat could be seen roaming the rooftops until Ladybug got hold of them.

He was greeted by Nathalie outside the kitchen door; she was surprised to see him out and about, ready to go. Checking her watch, she looked back at him, her eyes analyzing him. Satisfied, she handed over the protein drink promised to Aiden. Motioning for him to follow, they walked outside, where Gorilla stood patiently waiting for them.

Inside the limo, Nathalie fingers clicked at his schedule, “Well, it looks like you might be freed pretty early today.” Glancing back at him, “Don’t do that again.”  
Grinning, he laughed, “I’m sorry Nathalie, it wasn’t the plan, I swear, but I’ll do my best next time.”

“I’m sure.” she replied curtly, her tone amused.

The next few hours were spent with him speaking to different business associates of his father, each going over the details of what was expected of him to do, a few taking measurements to make sure all the information was up-to-date. By the fifth meeting, he was ready to pull out his hair, run out the door, and flee to anywhere but here.

“Adrien,” Nathalie voiced, looking at his schedule “that was your last meeting, and your father doesn’t know you're free. Do you wish for me to have you dropped off with a friend?”

“Ah, no, it’s fine. I actually want to head home, I need to finish some assignments for tomorrow.” With that note, he found himself quickly ushered back home and into his room, lectured by Nathalie, who was so displeased with his disorganization. Adrien couldn’t help but smile at that, because when it came down to it, she cared, more so than his father and that made him happy.

Sitting on his bed was Aiden, reading a physics book he had bought on a whim when he had gone out with Nino in search of a gift for Alya. Ye was not far from him with another physics book laid open for him to read. He had been so busy as of late that he had not had any time to sit down to read them. He pouted, finding it quite unfair that they were able to read them first.

Aiden smiled. Flipping to the next page, he spoke, saying, “We love physics. I still don’t quite understand why you are taking a business and fashion course.”

“You know the answer to that,” Adrien countered. “Père expects this from me- us.”

“Père expects a lot of things,” Aiden said, placing the book down, “but he doesn’t return anything, does he?”

Swallowing the sudden indignation at his words, Adrien looked away. “He's not all that bad.”

"'He's not bad,' he says,” Plagg grumbled, flying out of his hiding spot, “Kid, those meetings are torture!”

Aiden hummed in agreement, “If you say so. You can only lie to yourself so much before you admit the truth.” Patting the empty space beside him, he decided to change the topic. “So... what exactly do we plan?”

Ignoring his invitation, he pulled out the rolling chair from under his computer desk. “Well, unless you want to stay in here all the time, we have to split up the responsibilities,” Grabbing a journal from his table, he started creating a rough schedule. “We also need to get you a new phone so that we can keep track of each other. We can’t both be seen out in the same area.”

“Umm... we should probably go speak to Ladybug before anything else.” Adrien bit the bottom of his lip, feeling a bit apprehensive of what she would say. “If you want to go out, she needs to know you exist. Don’t want her to think you are an Akuma.”

“Plagg?” Adrien called out. He was met with a displeased kwami glaring at him. Smiling sheepishly, he said, “Claws out!”

At his command, the familiar sensation of the magic washed over him, covering his form with black leather. Aiden immediately followed with his transformation, and Adrien found himself gawking at it, for the first time, he watched a miraculous transformation from the outside. The burst of magic traveling over his form looked very different from what he had expected each time he transformed it was almost memorizing.

“Come on!” Blanc called, already bounding out the window, excited to get out of the confinement of their now-shared room.

Noir followed, the stress of the day melting away as they leapt and jumped across the buildings of Paris. His suit felt a bit different than usual; a tad lighter. He needed to make sure to ask Plagg what other disadvantages the split brought. It took over an hour before they finally decided to settle on one of the lower buildings to wait for Ladybug.

“Okay, so, you know the plan, you’ll hide 'till Ladybug comes, and when I give you the signal, you’ll jump in.”

Blanc deadpanned at his plan, “Really? Are you sure that's the best idea? You don’t want to scare the girl.”

“It’s the best idea I have,” Noir argued back. He could feel his hands clamming up at the idea of introducing her to... Himself.

Shrugging, Blanc conceded, “Don’t blame me if it backfires!” Giving a quick salute, he sprung away, climbing up the next building.

Taking deep breaths, he sat with his legs swinging casually over the ledge, his arms crossed over his shoulder, one of his fingers tapping restlessly at his shoulder as he waited for Ladybug to show up. On cue, Ladybug made herself known, landing a few feet away from him just minutes after his arrival.

“Hello, Chat,” She called out to him, her voice cracking slightly, “I've... been looking for you.”

Wincing, Chat hunched over and crossed his arms, making himself smaller. He had been expecting her, but having Ladybug there only made the situation more real. They still hadn’t been able to come up with a plausible excuse for there being two Chats beside the obvious truth.

“I’m so sorry, Chat,” she said, the sheer desperation of her words taking him by surprise, "I know I messed up; I tend to be a hot headed frie- person, and speak without thinking most of the time. I’m still set against revealing ourselves to each other, but I could have spoken more kindly to you about it instead of being so... hurtful.”

“Um- it’s okay, my lady,” Chat replied hesitantly. He could tell she was still worried about last night’s argument; maybe he should wait to tell her his news. Repositioning himself to face towards her, he grinned up at her, trying to keep his panic in, “I know I spoke out of turn. I always tend to jump ahead of myself.”

Ladybug looked back at him, surprised. “You-” her words hitched in her throat as she glanced at him. Taking in his grim appearance, tears gathered in her eyes, misunderstanding his tension. “No, it’s not, I made a mess of this, and I can’t seem to fix it.”

“Ah! No, wait, Ladybug, I really meant that!” Chat cried, jumping up from his place, flabbergasted; he hadn't meant to make her cry. His hands flailed in a futile attempt to reassure her, “It’s not you, it's me!”

Ladybug snorted at his words. “So you're breaking up with me?”

“Aw! Bugaboo,” His expression softened at her words. “If I was dating you, I would never break up with you.” His hands fussed over her for a moment, wiping her tears as best he could. “But I do mean it. I might, uh... actually, have a small problem that I’m not sure how to tell you.”

Sniffling, she studied him, her expression slightly puzzled as to what he could mean. “What kind of problem would cause you to hide and be so… so reserved?”

“Well, about that...” Chat Noir laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head. Maybe instead of going around the issue, he thought, he should just come out and say it.

“I might, uh... might have broken my ring.”

“What?” She exclaimed, perplexed by the sudden news. She snatched his ring hand and dragged it to her face.

He knew for a fact that the ring was only slightly different from the one she had seen over the years; instead of sporting green paws, white paws now flashed back at her, with a crack going right across the surface.

“Chat, what aren’t you telling me?” She asked breathlessly, realizing he was withholding information.

Taking back his hand, Chat mustered all his courage, willing himself to speak. “Bugaboo, I would like to introduce you to the third member of our group!” Stepping back, he motioned to his side. Taking this as a cue, a white figured vaulted across the building, landing right next to Chat. “Ta-da!”

Ladybug’s reaction was priceless as she rubbed her eyes, making a double and triple take, unable to grasp the fact that there were two Chats standing before her. She went as far as to pinch herself to see if what she was seeing was real.

“Chat!” She exclaimed in dismay.

“Yes, m'lady?” They echoed together. It had been unplanned, and they both couldn’t help but grin at each other, quite pleased with their synchronization.

Ladybug was momentarily speechless. “Not you!” She huffed, her attentions turn to Noir, “I meant you! Could you so kindly explain to me why there are two of you?!”

“But m'lady, that is too cruel, I haven’t even introduced myself!” Blanc exclaimed, drawing her attention back to him.

“He's right, you know!” Noir added, pleased to be out of the limelight.

Giving her a wicked smile, he stepped forward, giving her a curt bow. “My lady, my name is Chat Blanc, and I am at your service.” His tone was dark and sensual, catching them all by surprise, Ladybug's face flushing instantly at the double meaning.

Noir stiffened as he caught on. “Don’t do that!” He hissed, pushing himself between them.

Flustered and off-balance, Ladybug moved back, putting distance between them. “Nice to... meet you, Blanc,” She walked backwards slowly, slightly off-kilter, “I, uh, think I should, uh... be heading back. I’m, uh, dangerously close to my last spot. We’ll talk about this another day, Chat,” With a wave, she leapt away from the duo. Blanc and Noir didn’t speak as she bounded away.

Once she was out of sight, Noir turned to glare at Blanc. When Blanc turned to return the look, Noir slapped him on the shoulder. “What was that?!”

Blanc looked away, agitated by what had just occurred. “I didn’t mean to overdo it! Your emotions just ended up overpowering my better judgment.”

Noir froze at his words. “My... what?”

Blanc looked up at Noir, confused. “Your emotions. I can feel them… can’t you feel mine?”

Noir's eyes scrunched in confusion, staring at his opposite. "No, of course, I can't..."

Blanc's eyes mirrored the expression, sharing Noir's confusion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys here is chapter 2 as promised I hope you all enjoyed it and are not freaking out or actually are it's okay I'm fine with both. I also realized I'm missing a few tags so you might want to see those!
> 
> And a special thank you for TheHylianBatman for proofreading this story!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes Adrien needs spaces, cookies and his good friend Marinette to feel better.

The journey home had been tense and relatively quiet, with the sound of people bustling about on the ground. Each sound made him twitch, heightened his nerves, and made the situation feel much graver than it probably was. But Chat Noir had been a single person less than twenty-four hours ago, instead of the two people that now made their way across the rooftop of Paris. Maybe he wasn’t overreacting over this new situation.

Chat Noir slipped through the window, followed closely by Chat Blanc. Their transformation dropped as they stepped into the room. Aiden quickly took refuge on their bed, trying to distance himself from Adrien, overwhelmed by the assault on his emotions. While he knew they would have to eventually talk about it, he wasn’t quite prepared for it.

Adrien had learned to keep his emotions to himself ever since his mother had disappeared, his father's constant rebuke over exerting himself emotionally. So all of these things had been throwing him off and for the first time since Aiden came to be, he had finally grasped the seriousness of the situation. His emotions were a jumble mess and he did not know what to do.

Adrien chose to hover over the kwamis that had settled themselves on the small coffee table, glaring down at them, "What was that?"

Ignoring his glare, Plagg looked away, disinterested. “Cheese first, or nothing.” He wasn’t up for another conversation without his stomach filled. At least a happy tummy would distract him from the train wreck that was going to happen.

Ye, on the other hand, looked up at him expectantly. “I would prefer something sweet.”

Adrien looked at him, surprised. Plagg thrived on cheese; he had not expected other kwamis to want anything but cheese.

Sighing, he resigned himself to gathering food and waiting for the little gods to talk. At least he wouldn’t have to worry about doubling his cheese purchases. “I’ll grab that, but please try to keep the noise down.”

“Do you need anythi-” He stopped, his words dying in his throat as he looked at Aiden’s huddling figure sitting at the edge of the bed. Aiden stared back at him. He looked so uncertain and exhausted. He swallowed at the sudden jolt of guilt that hit him, and Aiden flinched in response to it.

Cringing, Adrien looked away; he hadn’t meant to make it worse. He had learned to keep his emotions in check since his mother disappeared. His father’s constant rebuke over his over-exerting emotions had him on constant guard. It was natural to feel weary and upset at having someone else probing at his emotions, but that still didn’t make him feel right for causing his other half so much distress.

A roar startled the duo. They both jumped in alarm, stumbling into each other. They managed to stay upright, using each other as support. Their attention was drawn to the kwamis, surprised at their commotion. Plagg and Ye were arguing, or at least, that’s what he assumed from their appearance, both closely resemble a hissing cat ready to attack, their words in a strange dialect that consisted of chirps, hisses and sounds.

Aiden was the first one to pull away from Adrien, sitting back down on the bed. Biting his lip, Adrien followed suit, settling beside him, willing himself to calm down. His efforts were met with a grumble as Aiden shoved him off the edge.

“Don’t do that.” He glared, his displeasure clear.

“Sorry?” He replied awkwardly, unsure. He rubbed the back of his head, “I was only trying to help.”

“I don’t need that kind of help,” he looked down at him, dejectedly, “This isn’t healthy for us. I’m sorry you're distressed over this, but please don’t do this to us. I hate it, and you hate it.”

Adrien's shoulder slumped; he grasped the seriousness of holding his emotions back. It was what had landed him in their current situation, but he didn’t know what to do with himself right now. He just wanted to curl up and sleep, hoping that this was all a dream, but the sting on his shoulder told him otherwise.

“Kid, where’s my cheese?” Plagg snarled from his place, his fur prickled with tension.

Chiding, Ye glared at him, “You don’t have to take it out on him, you’re making this situation harder for them.”

Growling, Plagg crossed his arm, staring at him unimpressed. Ye mockingly imitated him. Sensing the growing tension and possibly oncoming argument, Adrien darted to the hidden Camembert stash, while Aiden went in search of the bag of cookies he had been eating earlier that day.

“Why you little-” his words were interrupted as Adrien shoved the stinky wheel of cheese in his face. Pursing his lips, Plagg took the cheese, biting a chuck off of it, slightly vexed at the interruption. “Don’t think you're off the hook yet!”

Snorting, Aiden produced the small bag of cookies he had been searching for. Ye took it gracefully. “Come, come, ask your questions. We’ll try to explain as best we can.”

It only took a moment of shuffling bodies as both Adrien and Aiden settled down on the white sofa, side-to-side. Aiden was the first to speak nearly a minute later. “Why can I feel his emotions, but he can’t feel mine?”

Plagg bit into his cheese, looking at them. He raised his eyebrow in disbelief, “Weren’t you guys listening? You're part of Adrien, not the other way around. It’s only natural for you to feel his emotions. It kind of goes with the connection you guys have.”

“Actually,” Ye interjected, “You might feel something. It won’t be as strong, just an echo of his emotion. It should balance out once you guys… well, once you guys accept each other, it should equalize, and then you’ll be able go back to normal.”

Adrien shifted away from Aiden at that information; he wasn’t sure how he felt about that, “I feel like you both are withholding information, but I don’t know why, or what could cause so such secrecy.” Staring hard at them, he squinted, trying to gauge their reaction.

Squirming, Plagg looked away, uneasy.

Ye stared back, nodding his head. He complied as best he could. “It’s not an exact science, you know. Every chosen is different, so the bonds you have with each other is different. All we can do is wait and see what other bond will show up and explain them to you as they do. It’ll take a while for everything to settle, the bond might go a bit... well, crazy in the meantime.”

"What? What do you mean, it'll-" The feeling that overcame him was abrupt. The feeling of being trapped with no way out. It was an irrational feeling, that gave way to dread that had him shooting out of his seat and stumbling away. He gasped, finding it increasingly hard to take in air with every second that flew by. Aiden reached for him, alarmed, but that only made him flinch away. He was trapped, he needed to get out, he needed to escape, he needed-

“Claws Out!” He wheezed out. The trickle of magic washed over him, his clothes giving way to his black suit. Without delay, he slipped out the window before anyone had a chance to intercept him. By the time he came back to his senses, he was stumbling over, toppling a table as he fell, his lungs burning and his head buzzing.

The sound of a trap door popping open caught his attention; looking up, he met with bluebell eyes. Standing over him was Marinette, her face scrunched up in concerned, her mouth moving rapidly as she reached for him.

“Chat?” She tried again, her hands helping him up.

He blinked, his eyes focused on her “Princess? Why are you here?”

“I live here, Chat.”

Oh. He was at Marinette’s house. Well, that certainly didn’t go as planned. Typical. He chuckled bitterly at the thought.  
  
Marinette shifted closer to him, her mouth opening a few times uncertainly, before she grasped his hands. “Are you okay, Minou?”

Chat smiled at her simple gesture. “Well, if that isn’t a loaded question, I don’t know what is,” squeezing her hands in gratitude, he continued, “but I’m feeling much better now, this knight is always happy to be in the presence of royalty!”

Giggling, Marinette shook her head, “You big flirt, you're just here for cookies, aren’t you?”

Grasping dramatically, Chat exclaimed, “Why I would never!”

She laughed, “Dork.”

Tugging at his hands, she said, “Come on, let’s get inside. I have some cookies, and, if you behave, I’ll even get you some milk!”

Grinning, he allowed himself to be led inside. In a matter of minutes, they were bundled up, watching one of his favorite movies, with a plate of cookies shared between them. Breathing in the smell of the bakery, he was happy and relaxed just sitting on a floor, snuggled up with Marinette.

In a moment of boldness, he intertwined his fingers with hers. “Thank you, Marinette.”

Her face flushed red, making him laugh. Tomorrow, he promised himself, tomorrow he'll fix everything, but right now, all he wanted was to stay here and bask in the kindness and warmth of Marinette.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, sorry for the delay, life happen but I'm back, so yay! Quick note I change my username and with the username change, you can now find me on tumblr as qusinbee or quesbee. 
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy this chapter it's a little short I'll admit, I actually rewrote this chapter several times, one of my original drafts had Adrien sneaking to get snacks and bumping into Nathalie but I quickly got off track with that and had to change it and well I ended up with this. I'm happy with the outcome, I'm trying to establish a stronger bond between Marinette and Chat where I can sneak in some romance before I get them together. HAHA Mariblancnoir anyone?
> 
> Thank you, TheHylianBatman for proofreading this chapter. Also a special thank you to everyone who is leaving me reviews and kudos, it means a lot to me, and just pushes me forward to write, so thank you!

**Author's Note:**

> This story was proofread by TheHylianBatman, so don't forget to give this guy a special thanks for helping get this story out faster.


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